10:20 a.m., Heisenberg Tower.
Heisenberg was drinking in the nightclub.
Across from him, Bullseye stood there, running his mouth nonstop.
"Boss, you're famous, seriously famous! This time it's different. I don't know which big shots put it together, but the video of you beating the crap out of the Hulk last night got compiled and posted online!"
"Mmh." Heisenberg nodded.
"God, that was the Hulk! The Hulk who's trashed cities more than once and made the U.S. military completely helpless!"
"Mmh." Heisenberg nodded again.
"We all knew you were strong, but no one could even imagine how strong. You actually took him out with just three punches!" Bullseye clenched his fist hard and slammed it downward. "Took him out!!!"
"Hah…" Heisenberg cooperated and let out a breath.
"And you even kicked him straight to the Moon! That crater is still there!"
"So what?" Heisenberg finally cut him off. "Stop telling me this boring crap. Talk business."
He couldn't help it. Getting your ego stroked once or twice was whatever, but when it never stopped, it got awkward fast.
Bullseye obviously didn't get mad at being interrupted. As a professional underling, he knew exactly how to act like what the boss needed.
The boss was drinking alone in silence, so he had to go over and hype him up to liven the mood.
But now the boss wanted to talk real work.
Bullseye instantly snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight, like…
Alright, he only stayed straight for a second. Then he grimaced, braced a hand on his lower back, and leaned his upper body back as hard as he could.
No choice. That ass of his…
Even Heisenberg couldn't bear to look, so he lifted a hand and waved him off.
"Alright, alright. Go downstairs and rest."
"No, boss. I still have to keep leading those idiots out to the streets to do慰问 for New York citizens!"
"Heh. Deliver less booze. What, you want the whole city to turn into alcoholics and have shootouts every day?"
"Understood, boss. We don't have much liquor stock left anyway. This afternoon I'll take the men to deliver some car fuel for escaping New York, and the toasters our factory's been producing and selling!"
…
???
Heisenberg froze. Kingpin that fat bastard used to sell toasters too?
Still, as the boss, there was no need to act surprised over small things.
Heisenberg nodded with a blank face. "Do what you want. Just don't let the wound get worse. Go."
"Yes!"
Bullseye accepted the order and left immediately.
After he was gone, Heisenberg pressed the service bell on the table.
The nightclub floor manager, Billy, who'd been keeping an eye on the place, hurried over at a trot.
"Boss!"
"Call Jessica. Have her notify the Skrulls to meet me on the rooftop."
"Yes."
Billy arranged it at once. Heisenberg strolled through the nightclub's back area unhurriedly.
After briefly appreciating the dizzying sight of the dancers' bodies, he flopped onto a lounge chair, basking in the sun while he waited.
As for Bruce Banner, he had already been moved to the villa, because Heisenberg didn't want to sunbathe with a man for company.
Before long, two Skrulls arrived on the rooftop.
The moment they poked their heads up, they performed an extremely elaborate salute to Heisenberg from far away.
They didn't even care whether Heisenberg was looking at them.
Then, when they approached, they stopped about ten meters away and didn't dare take another step.
Heisenberg lifted his eyes toward them. The male Skrull immediately bowed again.
"It is an honor to meet you, great Lord Heisenberg."
The instant he finished, Heisenberg shuddered in disgust.
"Buddy, you don't have to be so serious. We're foreigners on Earth either way. Sit."
As he spoke, Heisenberg pointed to the lounge chair beside him.
But the Skrulls didn't dare sit at all. They stayed where they were, respectfully saying to him, "No, no. We are not qualified to sit beside a life as great as you. I have seen countless powerhouses across the cosmos, but you are the most dazzling among them. Just standing here looking at you already feels like an unforgivable offense."
"Heh." Heisenberg chuckled, bored.
Whether it was his own experiences in the origin universe, or the portion of memories the Kryptonian elder had shared with him, all of it taught him one truth.
Always treat flattery like farting air. Otherwise, someone jokes around, you start floating, and then you look ridiculous.
So he continued, "I told you to sit, so sit. Don't treat my words like a joke, Skrulls."
"Yes!"
The two of them hurried to find seats. As they sat, Heisenberg continued.
"Last night, I only made a verbal agreement with Lady Irida on my end, so…"
Heisenberg raised his eyelids and slowly examined them.
An invisible pressure gathered in the air, making the Skrulls inhale nervously.
While they panicked, Heisenberg kept questioning them.
"So after you were rescued, our agreement…?"
"It stands completely, my lord!" the male Skrull blurted out instantly.
He looked calm on the surface, but the deepening wrinkles on his face had already betrayed his inner turmoil.
"We Skrulls have long since lost our nation and territory. We no longer hold ourselves above others like the Kree and the Shi'ar Empires. To serve a powerhouse like you, one comparable to the Destroyer Titan Thanos, is an incomparable honor for us Skrull refugees!"
Heisenberg shook his head.
That denial made the Skrulls' faces turn green.
Even though they were green to begin with…
Anyway, in that instant, they were already imagining Heisenberg slaughtering them where they sat.
But Heisenberg only told them, "Not just that. My Skrull friends, what I want is Hill and Nick Fury!"
As he spoke, Heisenberg stood and walked up to them, patting the male Skrull on the shoulder.
"Hand those two over to me, and I'll honor the deal. At the right time, I'll give you a suitable planet. Don't you want that?"
"Of course we do!" the Skrulls nodded in unison.
"Good." Heisenberg nodded. "It's 10:40 a.m. Earth time. I want to see them before 10:40 p.m. Go."
He chased the two Skrulls off directly. He knew they had a way to contact their own people.
After the Skrulls left, Heisenberg returned to the villa and casually pushed open Bruce Banner's room.
That bastard was still unconscious, or maybe sleeping.
Either way, Heisenberg didn't want another man staying in his house anymore.
He instantly released heat vision. Scorching red light slammed into Banner's chest.
In just a moment, before Banner could even scream, he transformed into the Hulk.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
Same as always, the Hulk roared the second he woke, desperate to smash something to vent.
He wasn't like Banner who kept "not waking up." He still remembered the grudge of Heisenberg beating him down!
But after that furious roar, when he lifted his head and saw Heisenberg standing right in front of him…
For the first time, the Hulk lost his love for the outside world.
Back when Banner tried everything to lock the Hulk inside, who knew how badly the Hulk wanted to come out and see things.
Every time Banner lost control, those were the Hulk's happiest moments.
The Hulk was a big kid, ridiculously simple. Whether people attacked him or hated him, he just wanted to come out, walk around, feel the world up close, and climb around on skyscrapers like it was a game.
But today, and only this moment…
The Hulk abruptly stopped roaring. Even his posture sagged.
His arms drooped, and he stared at Heisenberg with blank eyes.
Maybe it was an illusion, but Heisenberg felt like he could see the scenes of himself beating the Hulk reflected in that empty gaze…
Still, the Hulk was the Hulk. After a brief haze and fear, he chose to attack.
One loss wasn't enough to break him. He feared nothing!
That's right. The Hulk feared nothing.
Even that infamous "shrinking" incident people mocked him for, in Avengers 3, when the Hulk stopped coming out of Banner.
That wasn't because Thanos scared him into hiding. He got a brain and became unhappy.
To the Hulk at that time, Banner was using him like a tool.
Banner restrained him daily, controlling him with everything he had, refusing to let him appear.
But the moment Banner got in danger, the beatings were immediately handed off to the Hulk.
The Hulk was simple, not stupid. Of course he wasn't going to obey Banner forever.
So when Avengers 3 hit theaters, the Hulk… shrank.
Anyway, the current Hulk, who hadn't had enough yet, wasn't going to be so scared after losing once that he'd refuse to come out.
He let out a roar and swung his fist straight at Heisenberg's head.
Thud!!!
A heavy impact sounded as Heisenberg caught the Hulk's punch with his palm.
At the same time, he used a bio-field to protect the rooftop floor, otherwise the two of them would have crashed straight down into the nightclub below.
"Haha, pretty energetic!" Heisenberg grinned. He had something fun to play with again!
Then he grabbed the Hulk and shot straight into the sky.
This fight didn't take place on Earth.
It happened on Mars.
The battle lasted a full two and a half hours, so long Heisenberg even missed lunch.
But he didn't care. Compared to one meal, the sense of achievement he felt right now was beyond words.
Heisenberg returned to his rooftop, planted a foot on Banner's chest, and shouted at him.
"Hulk, huh?"
"Angry, huh?"
"Scared of Thanos, but not scared of me, Heisenberg, huh?"
"Still dare to fight me, huh?"
As he barked, Heisenberg also patted the unconscious Banner's face.
"Weren't you pretty brave before? Why'd you chicken out now?"
As he spoke, he lifted the unconscious Banner and shook him hard.
"You need to straighten up!"
After shaking him for a while and seeing no sign of the Hulk coming back out, Heisenberg finally let go in boredom.
Looking at Banner lying there, still unconscious, Heisenberg took a satisfied sip of wine.
His second high-level achievement since arriving in the Marvel Universe, beating the Hulk so badly he didn't dare show his face.
Achieved!!!
He set down the glass, pressed the service bell, and when Billy came running over yet again, Heisenberg pointed at the naked Banner on the ground.
"This guy's basically for now. Take him down and deliver him to S.H.I.E.L.D. Perfect timing to cause some trouble for that New York S.H.I.E.L.D. that's just starting to recover."
/-\
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